New Years at the Brightman twins' New York condominium was certainly a sight for anyone to take in, especially Annabel Leighmann. Her grandfather was good friends with the twins' grandfather, and so Annabel knew Evan and Ethan fairly well. She never, ever, even in her wildest dreams, however, imagined that they would be able to pull off a party as crazy as this.
Then again, she thought, as she strolled past the giant chocolate waterfall, this was Evan and Ethan Brightman. They could pull off anything if they really put their minds to it.
"Hey, Annabel!" Evan squealed, bouncing up next to her. At the same instance, Ethan appeared at her other side.
"You're looking pretty tonight!" Ethan quipped, gently tugging on her black dress. The code had been to dress in the most childlike outfit, so Annabel had chosen a dress not dissimilar to the one Wednesday wore in the Adamms family movie. It appeared, judging by the scores of scantily clad females surrounding her that she had come a little over-dressed.
"Pretty flower!" they both sang in unison, before melting back into the crowd. Annabel shook her head, completely nonplussed at the twins' actions, before pushing her way through the sweaty crowd of people. She had spotted a seemingly quiet window, and aimed to snag a seat by it.
Unbeknownst to Annabel, Dwight Houston also had the same plan. He clutched his spray bottle of holy water close to his chest as he shoved his way through the masses, ready to attack anyone who looked even remotely malevolent. He knew it was Dalton tradition to go wild on New Years, yet he couldn't help but wish he was sat watching a marathon of World's Most Haunted Places instead. Just as he was about to collapse onto the loveseat by the window, a small blur of black did exactly the same.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, was this your seat?" Annabel jumped up at the sight of the pale teenage boy in front of her. He had on an incredibly bewildered expression, and seemed to clutch his spray bottle even closer to his chest. Annabel looked him up and down, coming to the conclusion that this must of been Dwight Houston, a boy the Tweedles had mentioned to her a couple of times.
"You must be Dwight. The Tweedles told me about you," she supplied, accompanied by, what she hoped was, a friendly smile. The boy in front of her didn't move a muscle, although his eyes appeared to bulge ever so slightly at the sound of his name, so she slowly sank back down onto the loveseat behind her.
Dwight couldn't stop gaping at the pretty girl in front of him. He knew he was probably scaring her away, but he was used to doing that to people who didn't know him. Besides, he couldn't sit down next to her, what would happen if she turned out to be a succubus, waiting to catch Dwight unawares? Then something caught his attention as it glimmered in the light. There, clasped around the girl's neck was a small vial, filled with a white powder that Dwight knew very well.
"Is that," he began, thrusting a finger at Annabel's chest, "is that a vial of rock salt?"
Annabel looked down at her necklace with a slightly embarrassed smile. She automatically closed her hand around it protectively before answering. "Yup."
Dwight sighed, his face forming into a picture of relief as he collapsed down onto the loveseat next to Annabel. He even seemed to release his grip on his spray bottle ever so slightly too. The two sat in a semi-comfortable silence for a short time before Annabel's curiosity got the best of her.
"What's in it?" she questioned, stabbing her finger at the spray bottle. She half expected him to tell her it was vodka or white rum; he was a friend of the twins after all.
"Holy water," he replied, "I gotta be prepared at all times. You never know when you'll need protection."
"That's why I keep my necklace on at all times. I can't bear the thought of walking around unprotected! It's like I'd be walking around naked!" Annabel declared.
"You're one of the only people that understands!" Dwight exclaimed, earning him a few strange looks from the people closest to them. He ignored them and carried on his conversation with Annabel, regaling her with his tales of the many exorcisms he tried to perform on his fellow Dalton students.
"You almost set fire to someone?" Annabel shrieked, "he can't be that bad!"
"He's much, much worse!" Dwight shuddered, leaning a little closer towards Annabel. She wasn't a succubus, he decided. She was too pretty and smelled much too nice. Plus she was actually clothed, unlike the other girls that had miraculously shown up at this party wearing next to nothing.
Before the pair even knew what was going on, the countdown towards the New Year had began, as had the twin's three-minute blackout, and they were still sat next to each other on the loveseat. Almost as if they were being controlled by something else, they both began to lean in towards each other, against their better judgements. And just as the New Year was counted in, just before their lips met, they ended up springing back from each other, Annabel wiping her leg dry from where Dwight had accidentally spritzed her with his holy water.
"Oh, crap! I am so sorry! Crap, I did not mean to do that! I don't think you're anything evil or malevolent, I swear!" Dwight rambled, a blush steadily working its way up his cheeks.
"It's fine! Really, a little holy water never harmed anyone," Annabel smiled, patting his hand.
"Well, it did if you were on the side of Satan!" Dwight hissed. Annabel just laughed in response, blinking as the lights came back on. They continued talking for a little while longer, mainly arguing over which episode of Buffy was the best, both trying to hide their disappointment over the near-kiss from the other.
"Well, I best get going," Annabel announced, looking sadly at her watch. "I have to be on a flight back to Chicago at midday, and I hate flying."
Dwight rose the same time as Annabel did, making sure his spray bottle stayed firmly by his side. In a strange bolt of courage, he shot forward and attached his lips onto her's. Annabel's lips pressed harder against his in response, her hand gingerly snaking up around his neck and towards his jet black hair. Dwight's free arm snaked around Annabel's tiny waist, bringing her ever so slightly closer to him. Dwight eventually broke away from Annabel, a dazed look upon his face when he realised that, not only had he just had his first kiss, but he had also been the one to instigate it.
"Happy New Year," Annabel whispered, smiling at him. He merely grinned back in response, and took it upon himself to walk Annabel back to the elevator, in order to protect her from any evil she may have come across in her short journey. He even sprizted someone who had arrived wearing a rabbit costume, purely because he looked at Annabel far too long for Dwight's liking. Just before she stepped inside, Annabel turned back to Dwight and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. She made a mental note to steal his number or email from the Tweedles as soon as she arrived in Chicago, and slowly entered the elevator, lifting her hand in a wave as the doors closed in front of her.
Dwight simply stared at the elevator with a smile etched upon his face. Happy New Year indeed, he thought, turning back towards the masses of people to go and find his Dalton schoolmates.